Thoughts of an Urbanist

[citythoughts]

Continuing

Cities have the power to accommodate to all yet fall short in the grand scheme of entangled policy and design. People seek suburbs for the things which the city lacks - comfort, greenery, privacy, domestic amenities, the quiet, the affordable, the space. And now - post-pandemic - suburbs are adapting to former urban dweller’s wishes for urban advantages such as dynamic public spaces, night life, spontaneous social happenstances. This is backwards. The suburbs are making up for what the city lacks, rather than the city incorporating the facets of suburbanity which some humans crave so much they purchase entire properties and cars. The suburbs, while they can be pleasant, isolate people into cars which increase their dependencies on fossil fuels; they frequently confine people into separated homes which somehow encourage neighborly interaction; they often remove the option of micro mobility and enable sedentary lifestyles.  If privacy is what is sought in public space, let’s turn people away from suburban car culture by imagining public spaces with room for escape of the realm. If domestic amenities is what is sought, let’s redesign the homes for the needs of today the future, and undo the policies which give developers all of the power.  Is greenery what is sought? We need to soften the city for many reasons already. Is it to grow a family? Grow a garden? Something? It should be in a city.  Dependence on fossil fuels must end, and we can do this by condensing our usage and improving efficiency. But even then, why be in a city? It should be clean, safe, and beautiful. We should want to spend time together. We chould rebel to gel. The American Dream is together, and together is in cities. 

[citythoughts]

Beginning the Manifesto

Climate change is not the problem; it is the symptom of the problem. The problem is the forced dependence on fossil fuel. Cities “have it all” but they do no accommodate for all. Accommodations are frequently sought in suburbs. to be continued

[citythoughts]

Considerations for Revitalizing Suburban Downtown

New Rochelle, NY zoning does not have zoning for sole bars. It only permits bars within restaurants. If they want to introduce nightlife into the downtown via a district overlay or special use permits, they must remember that a bar is a bar. You cannot zone for a piano bar, a classy bar, a jazz bar, a dive bar, or what not.  You cannot zone for taste. 

[citythoughts]

Climate Change is the Symptom of a Problem.

Impacts of climate change on the environment are a result of forced and uncapped overconsumption of fossil fuels. 

[citythoughts]

The Little Island is a Distraction

Stick the tourists in a place where they can’t see the friction. 

[citythoughts]

Walking Purposes

Resulting from the pandemic, are suburbanites realizing the greatness of this widely experienced basic function of our body... but that there are few to no options to walk with a destination? Sometimes in the burbs you drive to walk on a boardwalk or trail. As New Yorkers we walk all day to a destination. Contrarily to suburbanites we even go out of our way to a park, just to take a walk outside of our neighborhood or without a purpose. Is suburban walking limited to walking the dog and passing your neighbors homes? Only near main streets can they walk with a destination. 

[citythoughts]

Nesting Architecture

"Indigenous architecture tends to the small and round, though, following the model of nests and dens and burrows and redds and eggs and wombs—as if there were some universal pattern for home." -- Robin Wall Kimmerer

[citythoughts]

Accommodating for Private Spaces in Outdoor or Public Spaces

Places for moments of privacy, quiet, prayer, reflection, pause. Planning does not need to exclude considerations of mental health and spirituality in public space - we already consider physical health of people and environments in public space. We pretty much limit the mental experience in place to it’s pleasantness. Buildings rarely have these places either. 

A nook to safely find solitude in public places is mostly found in bathroom stalls which don’t even offer much of it. And they’re in appropriate for activities outside of their intention.

Someone having an anxiety attack or having a serious phone conversation, or stepping off of a crowded street to recollect themselves… or to read, to cry, to meditate or pray… they need a place to go that’s designated for this.

It’s like the concept of a breast-feeding pod or nap-room.

Public space can be tiring and inaccessible for people. Public space was likely much simpler just decades ago. Today, many things are electronic or advertisements which can cloud our minds and make days more information intensive than they already are. People leave for the suburbs for less speed than the cities. Our minds might not be adapted to everything required of it in todays public realm. A space to calm that’s designated and separate would balance out the chaos.

This breaks from embracing the visibility of public life. There is nothing wrong with that and it’s brings humans together which is so good. But, some things call for privacy. Lack of any privacy in public space might be what’s keeping people in their cars…………………………………